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Mar. 18—Pactiv Evergreen CEO Mike King was sent two warning letters Thursday indicating the company's exit from the Canton community would be costly.
Two of the top elected officials in North Carolina — Gov. Roy Cooper and Attorney General Josh Stein — sent separate letters to King expressing disappointment the company would close the Canton mill by the end of June and that its satellite operations in Waynesville will be reassessed.
The letters, which were also sent to the media, reflected the deep significance of the mill to the community and the far-reaching ripple effects of the pending closure across the state and region.
Cooper's letter urged King to "explore all options to keep the Canton mill in operation, whether through a sale of the mill, repurposing or other means." To date, Pactiv Evergreen appeared to have no interest in selling the mill to new owners.
The governor also noted the many ways the state has supported Pactiv Evergreen in recent years, including efforts to rebuild and restore transportation vital to the plant's operation in the wake of flooding caused by Tropical Storm Fred.
Stein's letter informed King of the company's legal obligations, both environmental and financial. He ordered the company to preserve all records from Jan. 1, 2013, forward related to the Canton mill, and put the company on notice the state would be in communication on which records must be produced.
Canton Mayor Zeb Smathers said he was not surprised by either letter as they simply followed up on personal conversations he's had with both Cooper and Stein.
What was a bit surprising, though, was the tone of the letter.
"As a lawyer, I've sent and received letters like this on behalf of clients," he said. "These are cases where every single word matters. Both were equally powerful in their own way."
While the governor's letter reflects his words of promise, the attorney general's letter, in a "very powerful way," puts Pactiv Evergreen on notice they will be expected to follow the law, Smathers said.
Smathers said it's reassuring to know political powerhouses such as the governor and the top law enforcement officer in the state are personally vested in an issue that has shaken the Canton community and Haywood County to its core. Both Cooper and Stein's letters spoke of the mill's long history in the Canton community and the devastating economic blow its closure would bring.
Grant default
Both letters also went into detail concerning a $12 million economic and job retention state grant to offset the mill's cost of upgrading smokestacks to meet air pollution standards — including a partial natural gas conversion. The grant came out of the state's Job Maintenance and Capital Development fund, or JMAC, for short.